Let Me Kiss You
by RosalindHawkins
Summary: Sequel to "Let Me Hold You." Joey's back from his first semester of college, but he has hell to pay. (Puppyshipping, Seto Kaiba x Joey Wheeler)
1. chapter 1

It wasn't anyone's fault, really.

It just kind of _happened_.

It happened the way that any relationship fell apart.

At the end of August, Joey left for his first semester of college amidst hugs and promises to call, to visit, and to come home.

"The great thing about being married to you, is that if I ever miss you too badly, I know you're only a phone-call away." Joey had beamed up at Seto with that endless warmth he possessed, and given him one last kiss before driving away.

That night, Seto realized that he and Joey had never before been separated ever since they started their relationship. Business trips had never taken him away for more than a few days at best, and even then he knew that Joey was at home, waiting for him to return. This feeling was different, loathsome, unsettling, and achingly familiar.

Loneliness.

* * *

Neither intended for the day they said goodbye to be the last day they talked. Physically apart, they seemed to be completely out of sync. Joey would call Seto while he was in a board meeting or on an important call, then Seto would call him back while he was in class, at practice, out with friends. When they kept missing each other, Seto tried calling him at every conceivable time of day, but his phone was always off, or dead, or muted, or ignored.

Seto's balanced life quickly lost equilibrium when Joey stopped trying to call, and Mokuba felt helpless as he watched his brother's young marriage begin to weaken and dissolve due to solvable silence.

Mokuba had acquired a Fakebook account by now, and he saw as much as Seto did on Joey's page: the pictures, the posts, the parties, the sports games, the all-nighters, and everything else. Seto left no indication that he'd seen any of the posts since he only used his account for business and stalking purposes, but Joey already knew that.

Seto kept trying to call Joey for a week or two after the blond had given up, but soon he'd stopped calling on a daily basis.

In order to answer his body's needs and distract himself from any mental or emotional distress, he found a new recreational outlet for himself.

It started with the ice wyrm. It was simply too beautiful, with the gradient of frosty blue and icy lilac along the knotted curvature of the artificial dragon penis for Kaiba to resist it. With him, he could create an intense experience that well simulated the presence of a living partner, one out of his wilder fantasies he'd buried in his subconscious long ago.

Then came the faery dragon. The colors were evocative, the textures deliciously varied, and the elegant shape of it alone made him salivate. Kaiba used it for gentler sessions of drawn out, bittersweet ecstasy on nights of crushing emptiness, when his loneliness overwhelmed him like a tidal wave and his soul needed neurochemical solace more than anything else.

Then there was the night drake. It was a monstrous toy, in both shape and size, brutal enough to elicit screams of both pleasure and pain, depending on how it was used. Kaiba used that one to punish himself, and it was while using this toy that he'd often scratch his thighs, dig his fingernails into his skin and drag them upwards to leave long red marks, relishing the deeper, more gratifying sensations the pain brought him. And if he bled a little, oh well.

He had a very stubborn justification for this behavoir: Joey wasn't here to stop him, and if Joey was here, he wouldn't need this anyways. But Joey _was_ gone. Kaiba'd been left alone, so Joey couldn't fault him for this, any of this.

Assuming he ever found out.

Which he wouldn't.

Because it wasn't his business.

Not anymore.

* * *

Mokuba had contemplated asking this question for days now. He'd puzzled over how he should phrase it, when he should ask it, what intonation he should give it. Now, as he and his brother drove home from a dinner at a four-star restuarant that celebrated Mokuba's recent test scores and Seto's birthday, he finally posed it.

"Will Joey be coming home for winter break?"

"How the hell should I know?" Seto snapped without hesitation. His response was so immediate that Mokuba wondered if Seto had been wondering the same thing.

After a few tense moments, Seto dropped his hand on Mokuba's shoulder to show that his brother wasn't the one he was angry with. Mokuba looked up at Seto, but those crystal blue eyes were still fixed on the road ahead.

"I'm sorry, Seto," the younger Kaiba murmured compassionately.

"Don't apologize for something that's not your fault," Seto promptly chastised.

"I just mean, I'm sorry that you're hurting." Mokuba took Seto's hand from his shoulder and held it, hoping it provided him with comfort. Seto didn't speak, but his expression shifted slightly to something a little less angry and a little more pained.

Seto held Mokuba's hand the rest of the way home.

* * *

The one instance that Seto received a text from Joey was nearly two months later, three days before he planned to return home for Christmas break.

"I'll be home late Saturday night."

Seto tossed his phone onto his bed without responding and took out his laptop to browse a website that specialized in fantasy dildos-his personal favorite.

It couldn't hurt to buy himself an early Christmas present to get him through the imminent drama that would accompany Joey's return. Thank goodness he was rich enough to have no issue with paying the additional fees for next-day delivery.

* * *

Joey felt agitated when he drove up to the gate of the property that had been his home for well over a year now. He hadn't heard back from Seto, so he wasn't sure if the staff would be expecting him. They let him in, though, and when he parked his car and came inside, some lights were still on and Mokuba was waiting for him.

"Hi Joey," his brother-in-law greeted with a tired smile. "It's good to see you again." A polite greeting, but he didn't come close for a hug.

"Hey kiddo, how've you been?" Joey asked, smile broad as he adjusted his hold on his bag.

"I've been doing well. Are you hungry?"

"Starving."

"Come on, there's food in the kitchen." Mokuba began leading the way, as if he thought Joey'd forgotten where it was.

"Great. How's school been?"

"It's been good. I skipped a grade, but I don't regret it. It's challenging, but not too much for me to handle."

"That's really good to hear." The blond hesitated. "How's your brother doing?"

Mokuba didn't look at him as he answered, "You shouldn't be asking _me_ that Joey." He lifted his face to reveal a stormy grey glare behind long bangs.

"Look Mokuba, it's more complicated than--"

"How many times have you two talked since you left?" Mokuba challenged, his expression familiar to Joey because of how many times he'd seen it on his brother's face. When Joey didn't answer, he huffed and said, "You'd better have a damn good explanation for this, Joseph."

"Hey, watch your language!" Joey scolded, as if Mokuba were his own little brother.

"Those are his words, not mine." Mokuba crossed his arms. "And you're not the boss of me. You know where the kitchen is, so get something to eat then find a guest room to crash in for tonight. Seto's asleep already, and he wouldn't let you in anyways." Mokuba turned in the direction of his bedroom and began to walk away.

"Goodnight, Mokuba!" Joey called after him in a desperate attempt to part on good terms.

"Goodnight, Joey." Mokuba stopped to look over his shoulder. "If I were you, I'd start preparing my explanation now." He turned back and resumed his stalking down the hall.

Joey sighed and buried his face in his hands. "Good job, Joey," he muttered sarcastically. "Just… great job screwing that up." And with that, Joey sighed and resumed his trek to the kitchen.


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: I have no idea what possessed me to use a plot arc from Junjou Romantica in this story. Does that make me cruel? Probably.**

* * *

Joey wasn't going to wait for breakfast to see Seto, not after they'd been apart for so long.

It wasn't hard to wake up early since his internal clock was already set to a six-hour night. (Being a full-time college student will do that to you.) So even though he'd arrived after midnight, he was still up before seven in the morning without the aid of an alarm. He took a quick shower, knowing that after his long drive yesterday he needed it, then threw on some clothes and went to Seto's room—their room—in order to wake him up.

When Joey tried the door, he found it was locked. He knocked.

"Seto? Are you awake?"

No answer.

"Come on, Seto, let me in."

He knocked again, but received no response. Joey tried pressing his ear to the door, but heard nothing. Maybe Seto wasn't awake yet. He retreated to the guest room where he'd spent the night and rummaged through his bag until he found his keychain. When he returned to their room, he unlocked it and let himself in.

The bed was unmade, but empty. The bathroom door was closed, and when Joey approached it, he could hear the sound of water running.

Okay then, he'd wait. He sat down on the edge of the bed and laid back, closing his eyes for a moment and listening to the sound of the shower as he waited.

* * *

Seto had known that he'd be facing Joey today for the first time in almost four months. He'd known that they'd need to talk about their lack of communication during that time. He'd known that it wouldn't be a pleasant conversation to have. He'd known that it might not end well.

He was mentally preparing himself for this, planning what he'd say, what he'd do, how he'd react to hypothetical explanations that Joey might provide him with. He worked through the scenarios in his head as he worked the shampoo through his hair, hoping that the shower would refresh his fatigued body enough for him to face Joey with some degree of calm.

What he wasn't prepared for, and hadn't at all expected, was to leave his bathroom with his towel around his waist, rubbing a smaller towel on his head to dry his hair, and see Joey sitting there on his bed as if nothing had ever changed, grinning up at him as if they'd just seen each other only yesterday.

"Good morning!"

Joey greeted him with overt enthusiasm as Seto stood there, drying his hair and staring at him with eyes of unreadable ice. Seto maintained his silence, and Joey's smile faded a little, his unease growing. He shifted a little on the bed, finally dropping his gaze and reaching up to scratch the back of his head nervously.

"So... how have you been?" the blond asked, cheeks heating up to a light blush that further confused the brunette.

Seto draped the smaller towel over his shoulder and crossed his arms, maintaining both eye contact and silence.

"Come on, don't do this to me," Joey pleaded, standing up. He took a step forward, reaching out—and Seto finally moved, brushing past him to enter his closet to get dressed. He closed the door behind him to keep Joey out, and felt a brief moment of relief that Joey at least respected that boundary. "Are you going to talk to me at all?" Joey asked, pressed against the door.

"Why should I?" Seto suppressed the impulse to throw the towels at the door, and instead dropped them to the floor. Too childish. "Because you made such determined efforts to talk to me while you were away?"

"It's not like I _never_ tried to call you," Joey retorted, against his better judgment.

"You never texted me either. You know I would have responded."

"I texted you just a few days ago!" _Shut up, Joey, this isn't helping!_ He knew he was digging his own grave, but he couldn't seem to stop himself from saying what he knew would make matters worse.

"Is that _really_ what you want to go with right now? You do realize you're not actually _helping_ your argument, right?" Seto's voice was dripping with disdain, and Joey had to bite back another retort.

"Yeah, I know." Joey sighed, resting his forehead on the closet door. "I'm really sorry."

Seto paused as he pulled on his shirt. He waited and listened for anything more, but heard nothing.

"Is that all you have to say? Sorry?"

Joey faltered, and Seto opened the door, now fully clothed. He considered Joey for a moment, skimming him up and down with dark eyes that Joey still couldn't interpret. Joey took an uncertain step forward, only to be stopped by a hard hand on his chest.

"This isn't working out. I think we should get a divorce."

Joey felt the floor fall out from under him, and he staggered a little when Seto pushed him further away in order to walk past him.

"What?" Joey turned to watch Seto's back as he walked away from him, baffled and angered. "What the hell! You didn't even give me a chance to explain!"

"I just _gave_ you that chance, and if 'sorry' is all you have to say to me, then we don't have a chance of making this work."

His cold voice sounded so dead and devoid of emotion that it scared Joey. He forced himself to move, lunging across the room to grab Seto by the back of the shirt.

"Is something going on that I don't know about? Is there something else that's bothering you? Talk to me, damn it!"

Seto rounded on him, forcing Joey to release his hold on his shirt. His eyes flashed with anger as he finally glared at Joey, their faces now inches apart.

" _Now_ you want to talk to me?" Seto sneered. "Now that it's _convenient_ for you?"

"That's—"

"I have to work, Joey."

He let those words sink in for a second before he turned away again. No longer paralyzed by the cold fire in the brunette's eyes, Joey lurched forward and grabbed his arm.

"Wait, let me talk!"

"Let me go!" Seto's violent reaction was immediate and unrestrained. Joey barely deflected the fist aimed at his face, surprised by the force of Seto's anger towards him. They grappled for a few moments before Joey was overwhelmed and pushed to the floor, but not without him dragging Seto down too. The brunette landed on him with a grunt, but as soon as Joey caught his breath, he took Seto's face in his hands and pulled him into a kiss.

Everything went still, and it was just the two of them, together, like they used to be. Seto pulled away first, rolling off of him and standing up quickly.

"We'll talk later." Just like that, he was gone, and Joey couldn't tell if those words were an order or a promise.


	3. Chapter 3

When Seto left, Joey didn't know what to do with himself. He lay on the floor for a few minutes, recreating the kiss in his mind over and over again: the taste and pressure of Seto's lips, their slick softness, the familiar way their mouths fit together like old friends getting reacquainted. Joey groaned and draped his arm over his eyes. He'd really screwed up this time. He wanted to hold Seto again, to feel the brunette's body under his hands and Seto's mouth on his neck and… Joey groaned again.

No, it was time for him to get up and _do_ something about this. Lying here in a puddle of wanton desire wouldn't solve his problem. He needed to take immediate action, before this became more of a problem than it needed to be. Knowing Seto, things would inevitably escalate unless the situation was ameliorated immediately and efficiently. But Seto also wouldn't tolerate any interruptions in his busy work schedule, so Joey would have to work around that. Maybe he could call his office and set up a lunch meeting? Yeah, that would be good. He would be respecting Seto's schedule, but still finding time to patch things up with him.

He'd make this work out, he would.

He _had_ too.

* * *

"You must think you're really clever," Seto observed dryly as Joey stood in front of his desk, dressed crisply in a red button-down shirt and a black sport-coat. With dark-wash jeans and black boots, it was obvious that he meant to impress with his apparel, but also that he was only here to impress one person.

"I'd be lying if I said that I don't!" Joey replied with a boyish grin, running his hand through his hair. "You're not going to kick me out after I went to all the trouble of setting this up, are ya?"

"I might." Seto crossed his arms as he leaned back in his desk chair, his words clipped and frosty. "There isn't actually anything you can do to stop me if I don't want to go with you."

Joey's smile drooped, his face growing serious.

"Will you come with me if I say please?"

"Would you get on your knees and beg me to come with you if I asked you too?" Seto snapped back, eyes narrowing marginally.

"Yes." Joey approached his desk with slow, measured steps, resting his hands on the front edge of it. "Because it's important to me that we talk about this. And besides, I really missed you."

The brunette looked away without seeming to look at anything in particular. After a few moments of thought, he uncrossed his arms and stood up.

"Fine. I'll hear what you have to say."

* * *

"I hope you actually plan on getting us food," Seto retorted from the passenger seat of Joey's car, his mood distinctly sour.

"Of course I do. I'd take you out to a fancy restaurant or somethin', but I think the conversation we'll be having would be best had in private." Joey glanced at Kaiba out of the corner of his eye. The brunette seemed surly, but the fact that he'd agreed to this showed that he wanted a resolution too. Seto wanted reconciliation as much as Joey did.

"So, what have you and Mokuba been up to while I was away?" Joey asked after a few minutes of silence.

"Not much." Kaiba offered nothing more, and Joey sighed. He didn't press the issue, certain that things could get very bad between them if they started bickering about this now, instead of waiting until they were home. If they were going to do this, the had to do this right. Joey let the drive pass by with only the ambiance of low-volume rock radio. He got them home fast, and they went inside without exchanging a word. Joey asked one of the servants if lunch was ready, and upon hearing that there was another half hour until then, he turned to face Kaiba.

"How about we go to our room and talk until then?"

"Fine."

The silence between them was tense as they walked down the hall together, but it ended the moment the door closed behind them.

"I'm going to talk, and you're going to listen to me okay?" Joey's eyes were hard-set; he was dead serious. "I won't tolerate any interruptions from you. Understand?"

"And what will you do to me if I interrupt you?" Seto's lips curved into a smirk. "You need some weight behind that threat if you want me to listen."

"It's not a threat, and I don't want to hurt you." Joey's eyes softened, beginning to adopt that sad puppy look that made him look pitiable. "I never meant to hurt you, actually. Will you please let me explain?"

"I'll listen to you, but I doubt that there's anything you could say that would make a difference." Kaiba sat on the edge of his bed, arms crossed again with a closed countenance. He really wouldn't _hear_ Joey's words unless he was willing to.

"Seto, I missed you while I was gone. I missed you a _lot_." The blond's voice went soft, catching on that last word as the ache of longing washed over him again. He'd felt it for so long, and he'd had to push it aside in order to have this conversation, but it was so hard to suppress. "I know that I stopped calling pretty early on, and I know that that upset you—"

"Oh, _do_ you?" Kaiba snapped, bitter and sarcastic as his cold eyes blazed with anger. "However did you guess know _that_?"

"I don't need your attitude, Kaiba," Joey muttered through gritted teeth, his own temper flaring for a moment. "I'm trying to make things right between us. At least let me do what I can." When Kaiba said nothing more, Joey continued, "I didn't stop trying to call you because I stopped caring about you or because I forgot about you or didn't want to talk to you. I stopped calling because... because I missed you so much."

"That makes no sense." Seto interrupted again, looking more tense than before. "If you missed me, wouldn't talking to me alleviate that?"

"No—well, yes, but—"

"So you don't actually _have_ a good reason for why you did what you did?" Seto continued bitterly. "It was just easier for you to not talk to me?"

"Yes—no, I mean—" Joey was getting flustered rather quickly. Talking to Kaiba in person was very different from practicing what he wanted to say to an empty room.

"So you just didn't talk to me because you didn't want to, then." Kaiba began to stand up. "And if that's the case, then I don't know what either of us are still doing here or why you bothered to come home."

"Would you just shut up and let me talk?!" Joey burst out, frustrated. "Sit down and let me explain, _please_! At least I'm trying to make things better, can't you give me credit for that?"

"You're the one who messed things up in the first place," Kaiba retorted pointedly. Joey closed the distance between them and grabbed Kaiba by his broad shoulders.

"Then let me fix it, why don't ya!" Joey shouted, his anger growing. "Sit down, let me talk, and keep your mouth shut or I swear I'll just gag you so I can say what I want to."

"I'd like to see you try." Kaiba didn't seem to care that he was goading Joey into a fight. Did he really think that things were so irreconcilable between them that he wanted to sabotage all of Joey's attempted apologies? Out of frustration and exasperation, Joey decided to throw his carefully planned words to the wind.

"I didn't talk to you because I was afraid it'd make me want to come home and never leave!" Joey pushed Kaiba away, the brunette landing soundlessly on the bed as the blond turned away, unable to face him as tears welled up in his eyes. "I didn't talk to you because I missed you so badly I know it would make me want to come home. And if I came home, I didn't think I'd be able to leave. I missed you so _badly_ Seto... nobody can take your place. There's nobody like you. I didn't stop loving you, I just... I wanted to stay at school and make you proud." Joey sniffled, wiping his wet eyes with the back of his hand. Seto was silent behind him, so he decided to continue. "I've never had anyone to be proud of me before, not the way you are. I didn't want to lose that, and I especially don't want to lose _you_ , so... please, just try to understand."

Joey cried quietly for a little while, stifling the sound with his hands as he tried to listen out for anything Seto might say. But the brunette remained quiet too.

"This morning, you said that you wanted us to get a divorce. Is that still true?" Joey's voice broke as he asked, but he made himself straighten up and turn around to face Seto. He wasn't going to hide from him, not anymore.

Seto looked confused and guarded, and he must have been, because he didn't speak for a while, still trying to find an answer.

"I don't understand what you mean," he said at last. "Why wouldn't you want to talk to me or see me if you missed me?"

"I _did_ want to see you," Joey insisted, stepping closer to the bed, feeling mildly encouraged when Seto didn't try to move away from him. "But... it's a lot easier to just be here with you, to just live at home. I'm _happy_ here with you." Joey moved closer and sat down next to Seto on the bed, leaving space between them because he still wasn't sure how forgiving the brunette was feeling right now. "At school, it was really hard. I had classes, and homework, and and sports practice, and everything was so busy _all the time_. It was exhausting, and the idea of coming home to visit you, even just for a day..." Joey gingerly lifted his hand to touch Kaiba's cheek, brushing it softly. "It sounded so appealing, that I was afraid I wouldn't want to go _back_ to school. But I would _have_ to go back to school so that I could keep up my grades and keep my scholarship and... I thought that if I kept myself from seeing you, told myself that I wasn't allowed to see you until the semester was over and I had finished everything that I had to. I thought that would keep me working hard, and when it was all over, I would reward myself by getting to see you again."

Joey held his breath and stared at his hands as he waited for Kaiba's response. He knew that his explanation probably sounded silly to the brunette, who'd never lacked for willpower and the inner strength to accomplish his goals. Joey wasn't like that, though. He wasn't as driven as Kaiba was, and he need some external motivation to keep himself on-task.

"Silly puppy."

The words were warm and sad at the same time, and Joey lifted his head, his chest filled with a spark of hope. No sooner had he lifted his gaze than Seto was pressing his lips to Joey'sin a hungry kiss. Joey groaned, immediately losing himself. He slipped his arms around Seto in an embrace, eyes closed as he readied himself to drown in pleasure. Kaiba tore his mouth away much too soon for Joey's taste, and the blond whimpered with need.

"Not so fast, Joey," the brunette chuckled. "I still need to punish you."


End file.
